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1 week ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
The Department of Interior, headed by former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, has just released its fiscal year 2026 budget it wants approved by Congress. Included in that budget, on page 13, is a direct call to sell “excess federal lands” to states and Native American tribes. “In strengthening the Federal Government’s commitment to neighboring communities, the Budget proposes to transfer excess Federal lands to willing States and Tribes,” the budget proposal reads.
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1 week ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
The R.L. Winston Rod Co. recently released its newest lineup of fly rods. These new rods are part of the AIR 2 family, which uses Winston’s latest and most innovative graphite and resin technologies. The Reach rods are 10-foot sticks designed for trout applications. The Reach is available in a 4, 5, or 6-weight model. While the Reach rods replace the Super 10 models (Winston’s previous lineup of long, nymphing-focused rods), the Reach series isn’t a direct follow-up.
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1 week ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
If, by some miracle, politicians made it to heaven, I bet you a few fly rods they’d start working deals to develop the “underutilized land.” The current fervor for developing every parcel of land in the West is as absurd—and sacrilegious—as that statement. There’s a pervasive attitude amongst state legislatures, particularly in Utah, that seems to think that every valley in the Mountain West is underutilized if it’s not covered edge-to-edge in high-density housing.
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3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Utah Senator Mike Lee wants to reintroduce the sale of public lands into President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” The ability to sell public land in Utah and Nevada was included in the original version of this bill when it originated in the House of Representatives. However, that provision was stripped from the version of the bill that passed the House, thanks in large part to public outcry, and Montana Representative Ryan Zinke, a Republican, standing against it.
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3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Two sugar companies, with plantations near the Everglades in Florida, just received permission to start hard rock mining on their land. Their fields are just 1,000 feet away from the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) reservoir, a project that’s being built to help curb the harmful impact of freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee.
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3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
I heard—from a reliable source—that something like 70% of fly rods sold in the U.S. are 9′ 5-weights. That makes sense, since the 5-weight has become the do-it-all rod for most fly fishing, but especially for trout. A good 5-weight handles dries, nymphs, and some streamers with relative ease. It’s a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none stick. I own probably 20 different 5-weights, and I’ve reviewed probably two or three times that amount of 5-weights for various magazines over the years.
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4 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
I’m well aware that fish eat something like 80% of their diet underwater. I know they don’t eat dry flies all the time. And I’m acutely acquainted with the fact that, if you want to catch fish year-round, you’ll need to be on a first-name basis with a variety of nymphs. Despite that, there’s one fly I never leave the house without (even in the dead of winter): the Sparkle Dun. I’m partial to the version of the Sparkle Dun tied in the video above, but I’ll start with why I love this fly so much.
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4 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
NRS, one of the leading suppliers of gear for water-based recreation, has just released their 2025 apparel collection. This lineup of new apparel is touted as the company’s best attempts yet at creating the ultimate gear for guides and weekend warriors alike. Specifically, NRS focused on three keys areas for every piece in this new collection. Durability tops the chart, with each piece designed to stand up to serious wear and tear.
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1 month ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
I’m not sure how long I’ve gone without fishing over the past 15 years. I’m sure there were cold snaps, blizzards, or broken-down vehicles that kept me off the water for a week at a time, but never two weeks. I have an obsessive personality, and fly fishing is the sort of sport that caters to obsessive types, especially when you spend most of your life living 15 minutes from a decent trout stream.
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1 month ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Simms has announced the release of a brand-new wader to their lineup—the Flyweight Packable Wader. Simms is calling this the “lightest, most packable wader” the company has ever built. It’s designed to provide the same tough performance Simms is known for, while easily fitting inside a backpack. The entire wader packs into an integrated stuff sack located in the chest pocket. Clocking it at 2.45 pounds in a standard Medium, the Flyweight Packable certainly is light.
